Wolfpack dodges danger, dumps Syracuse

Saturday

Sep 30, 2017 at 7:36 PM

Bob Sutton Times-News @tnBobSutton

RALEIGH — Without obvious motivators dangling in front of North Carolina State’s football team, the Wolfpack realized it was necessary to perform like it’s one of the best Atlantic Coast Conference teams every week if that’s how it wants to be perceived.

So with that, the Wolfpack went out and carried on with enough good stretches to keep the positive vibes by defeating Syracuse 33-25 in Saturday afternoon’s game at Carter-Finley Stadium.

“A lot of people were saying we’ll probably have a drop-off,” receiver Stephen Louis said, figuring the best answer was delivered. “The result. This is what we expect because we work so hard.”

N.C. State (4-1 overall) is 2-0 in ACC play for the first time in 11 years.

“We got there, pretty or not,” coach Dave Doeren said of the performance. “I’m happy with it. It’s great to be in this situation.”

Part of the plan was making sure the Wolfpack was focused on Syracuse and not on basking the spotlight from an upset a week earlier at Florida State.

“This was the one I was most concerned about and happy how we did it,” Doeren said. “(We told them) if you want to be who you say you want to be, you have to win this game.”

Defensive end Bradley Chubb said the Wolfpack was able to follow success with another preferred result because of the collective mindset.

“We’re a lot more mature than we have been in the past,” Chubb said.

Junior running back Nyheim Hines rushed for career-high 115 yards and a touchdown as N.C. State won its fourth game in a row. Hines, who had 19 carries, scored on a 1-yard run with 9:52 remaining to thwart Syracuse’s momentum as the Wolfpack prevailed in its conference home opener.

“We’re 2-0 in the ACC,” Chubb said. “We’re excited to get on to the next game.”

That comes in short order when Louisville visits Thursday night.

Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey was 30-for-47 for 385 yards, including a 10-yard pass to Steve Ishmael that enabled the Orange (2-3, 0-1) to close within 33-25 with 4:39 left. Dungey scored on a 7- and 1-yard runs and a two-point conversion dive.

Syracuse scored the only 10 points of the third quarter, pulling within 26-17 on backup kicker Sterling Hofrichter’s 37-yard field goal. By then, the game had become chippy with players squaring off after the whistles several times.

A 15-play drive to open the game resulted in Carson Wise’s 26-yard field goal for N.C. State. Then on Syracuse’s second snap, Johnathan Alston intercepted Dungey’s pass for the game’s lone turnover. That resulted in Wise’s 48-yard field goal.

Syracuse’s Cole Murphy missed a 48-yarder before Finley’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Louis with 25 seconds left in the first quarter as the Wolfpack covered 70 yards in five plays.

The Wolfpack’s lead grew to 26-7 by halftime on Reggie Gallaspy’s 10-yard run and Jaylen Samuels’ 16-yard run.

— EXTRA POINTS …: N.C. State lost fifth-year senior running back Dakwa Nichols to a first-half knee injury when he was tackled by linebacker Parris Bennett, who committed a face-mask penalty on the play. Nichols was carted off the field and is scheduled for season-ending surgery today. … N.C. State linebacker Jerod Fernandez made a game-high 14 tackles. … It also was N.C. State’s 200th all-time victory (200-112-6) in the stadium, which opened in 1966. … Former Eastern Alamance player Kingsley Jonathan, a freshman reserve defensive end for Syracuse, played but didn’t record any statistics. … The Orange has allowed at least 30 points in each of its losses.